SXSWedu 2014
A Public School...Frontierland to Futureland
An epic win, according to Jane McGonigal, is “an outcome that is so extraordinarily positive that you didn’t even think it was possible until you achieved it.” This is a term native to the gaming industry, and an ideology that has taken root in the Elizabeth Forward School District, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the evolution of public education has commenced. Over the past 3 semesters, the Elizabeth Forward School District has seen a drastic change in instructional delivery, creative spaces, district culture, and educational philosophy of leaders and staff. This type of change begins in a gaming mindset where taking high risks in turn leads to high rewards. Risk was the catalyst to every educational innovation that has helped to progress our district from a frontierland to an educational tomorrowland.
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Takeaways
- How to create an Entertainment Technology Academy at a high school which combines Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) with the Arts to give students not only the skills but also the creativity they will need to thrive in the new global digital workplace?
- How to create a Media Center at your school that is modeled after the YOUmedia Center at the Chicago Public Library? In this creative learning space, students are able to hang out and geek out with supplemental learning tools such as: a sound studio, a video production studio, iPads, and laptops. What inexpensive ways are there to have mentors in your media center?
- How do you implement a SMALLab in a school to enhance teaching and learning? What is a SMALLab? A SMALLab is a place where learning becomes a physical experience where students interact with a motion-capture technology allowing them to become immersed in the learning. How do you create an Embodied Learning Lab in your school to enhance teaching and learning using the Kinect System? Students will experience a multi- sensory approach to learning material using this technology.
Speakers
- Dr. Todd Keruskin, Assistant Superintendent, Elizabeth Forward School District
- Bart Rocco, Superintendent, Elizabeth Forward School District
- Drew Davidson, Director of the ETC at CMU, Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University
- David Birchfield , CEO, SMALLab Learning
Organizer
Todd Keruskin, Assistant Superintendent, Elizabeth Forward School District
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